The Democrats' Ambitious New Chairman

It is a difficult time for Rhode Island's dominant Democratic Party: anti-incumbent sentiment is running high, fealty to party is on the decline, and gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio - for all his strengths - may be a less-than-attractive choice for those on the left of the party, particularly with independent Lincoln Chafee available as an alternative.

With that as backdrop, I've got a piece in this week's Phoenix on Edwin Pacheco, the state representative-turned-Democratic Party chairman trying to hold it all together - and recapture a little of that Obama magic from 2008.

It is also a story about Pacheco himself - an ambitious pol who may, yet, run for office again. Take a look. Should be on-line later today and on the newsstands tomorrow.